Effects of a Multisensory VR Experience on Stress and User Experience

February 6, 2026 updated by: Guillermo Palacios, Universidad de Zaragoza

Effects of a Multisensory VR Experience on Stress and User Experience: A Randomized Controlled Study

This study explicitly tests a multisensory virtual reality experience that combines visual, auditory, and olfactory channels to modulate the stress response in young adults. In addition to visual and auditory stimulation, the study also assesses whether a relaxing olfactory stimulus attenuates this effect. The environment and task remain constant (constant visuals); auditory and olfactory elements are varied. Objective. To evaluate the main effects of varying auditory and olfactory stimuli, as well as their interaction, on variables related to the performance of a quiz-type task in virtual reality.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • must meet the required age.
  • must have corrected vision/hearing.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • uncontrolled asthma.
  • uncontrolled odor-triggered migraines.
  • pregnancy state.
  • nasal congestion.
  • severe predisposition to dizziness in virtual reality.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
Control Group
Experimental: Experimental
Experimental Group
Other: Relaxing aroma and state of stress/calm
A 2×2 randomized design is used. The Aroma condition is between subjects (relaxing aroma vs. no aroma) (experimental group and control group). The Mode condition is within each group and consists of two blocks: Stress and Calm. The order of the blocks is counterbalanced (Stress-Calm/Calm-Stress): half of the participants experience Stress first and then Calm, and the other half in the reverse order.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
NASA Task Load Index
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks

This test measures perceived mental workload. It has the following dimensions: Mental demand, effort, physical demand, performance, time constraints, and frustration level. Scoring interpretation:

Higher scores for mental demand, effort, physical demand, time constraints, and frustration level indicate a greater workload/demand.

Higher performance indicates a better experience. Reference: S. G. Hart y L. E. Staveland, "Development of NASA-TLX (Task Load Index): Results of Empirical and Theoretical Research", en Advances in Psychology, vol. 52, North-Holland, 1988, pp. 139-183. doi: 10.1016/S0166-4115(08)62386-9.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks
Short Stress State Questionnaire (SSSQ)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks

Test to measure stress levels. It has three dimensions: engagement, anxiety, and worry. Scoring interpretation:

  • Higher score in anxiety/worry -> worse (more stress)
  • Higher score in engagement -> better (more involvement/functional activation)

Reference: W. S. Helton y K. Näswall, "Short Stress State Questionnaire", Eur. J. Psychol. Assess., vol. 31, n.o 1, pp. 20-30, jun. 2015, doi: 10.1027/1015-5759/a000200.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
IPQ - Igroup Presence Questionnaire
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks

A test that measures overall presence in VR. Dimensions: Spatial presence, engagement, realism. Scoring logic: Higher scores indicate greater presence.

Reference: T. Schubert, F. Friedmann, and H. Regenbrecht, "The Experience of Presence: Factor Analytic Insights," Presence Teleoperators Virtual Environ., vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 266-281, June 2001, doi: 10.1162/105474601300343603.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks
VRSQ - Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks

It measures Cybersickness / motion sickness symptoms. Dimensions: General malaise, vestibular symptoms. Scoring logic: Higher scores indicate greater malaise.

Reference: H. K. Kim, J. Park, Y. Choi, and M. Choe, "Virtual reality sickness questionnaire (VRSQ): Motion sickness measurement index in a virtual reality environment," Appl. Ergon., vol. 69, pp. 66-73, May 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2017.12.016.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks
VAS Scale
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks

It measures:

  • Odor intensity (experimental only)
  • Odor liking (experimental only)
  • Odor familiarity (experimental only)
  • Perceived time pressure (both groups) Meaning: Higher scores indicate greater perceived intensity/liking/familiarity/pressure (depending on the item).

Reference: M. Koo y S.-W. Yang, "Visual Analogue Scale", Encyclopedia, vol. 5, n.o 4, nov. 2025, doi: 10.3390/encyclopedia5040190.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks
UEQ-S - User Experience Questionnaire Short
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks

It masures the user experience. Dimensions: Pragmatic and hedonic. Scoring logic: Higher scores indicate better user experience.

Reference: M. Schrepp, A. Hinderks, and J. Thomaschewski, "Design and Evaluation of a Short Version of the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ-S)," Int. J. Interact. Multimed. Artif. Intell., vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 103-108, Dec. 2017.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks
Performance rate
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks
Measures of the number of correct answers, response time, and use of clues
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Universidad de Zaragoza

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

February 10, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 1, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 1, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 6, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UTI-VI-060-2025

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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